RTA board approves $3 billion 2017 regional transit operating budget

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) board of directors has adopted the 2017 operating budgets for the RTA, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and Pace, totaling $3 billion. 

The board also adopted a five-year capital program valued at $5.1 billion, which includes an estimated $1.8 billion in capital expenditures for 2017.

“This productive budget season began with the RTA and Service Boards reaching agreement on operating funding allocations through a collaborative process almost a month ahead of the statutory deadline for the second year in a row,” said RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden. “In addition, this budget continues to allocate a share of non-statutory funding to all three Service Boards; this had been previously limited to CTA and Pace. Finally, the RTA once again increased funds for the Service Boards by directly programming Innovation, Coordination and Enhancement (ICE) funds through the budget process.”

The $3 billion operating budget permits operations expenses of the following amounts: $1.524 billion for the CTA; $781.2 million for Metra; $228.6 million for Pace Suburban Bus Service; $175.0 million for Pace Regional ADA Paratransit; and $40.9 million to go toward the RTA.

Neither CTA nor Pace currently anticipates a fare increase for 2017.

The CTA will continue project work including: rehabilitating rail stations such as the Wilson Station Reconstruction Project; the 95th Street Terminal on the Red Line; choosing a final alignment for a proposed Red Line Extension from 95th Street to 130th Street; completing project engineering work and Phase 1 of the Red and Purple Modernization Program; and modernizing rail and bus fleets, removing rail slow zones and updating technologies.

Metra’s 2017 proposed budget will increase fare revenue by an average of 5.8 percent and invest the resulting $16.1 million in revenue in the agency’s extensive capital needs. Metra’s 2017 plans include continued rehabilitation work on some locomotives and railcars, purchasing new railcars and continuing a years-long initiative to replace aging Union Pacific North Line bridges on Chicago’s North Side and rebuilding the Ravenswood Station.

The RTA is expected to continue updating the Regional Transit Strategic Plan due in 2018 as well as allocating funds to encourage ridership throughout the region from the agency’s Community Planning and Access to Transit Programs. The agency will continue to work with other transportation partners to fund the design of improvements to Chicago’s Union Station, as well.

For the third consecutive year, the transit system cannot rely on state funding. The RTA estimates that it will need to invest $2 billion to $3 billion annually to address the region’s capital needs, but representatives say the current capital program fails to meet that goal. Federal funds account for about 45 percent and CTA Transit Tax Increment Financing funds cover 35 percent of the 2017 capital program. The CTA is primarily responsible for growth in the 2017 capital program related to its funding to support Phase I of the Red and Purple Modernization project. 

A copy of the transit system’s 2017 budget and capital program is available to view here.